Weapons, warfare and industrial idiocy

The Wisdom of Professor Seagull

"It is the duty of the bohemian to make a spectacle of himself. If my informality leads you to believe that I am a rum-dumb or that I belong in Bellevue, then hold fast to that belief; hold fast, and show your ignorance."

Joseph Ferdinand Gould (1889-1957)

Cold War Reenactors

"We rely upon the good will of our fellow man - and the forbearance of reptiles."

"WOW" (Wisdom of Wally)...

Lot's of different pics of this sign.

"I don't make hell for nobody. I'm only the instrument of a laughing providence. Sometimes I don't like it myself, but I couldn't help it if I was born smart."

1st Sgt. Milton Anthony Warden."From here to Eternity"

Paul Valery

"You are in love with intelligence, until it frightens you. For your ideas are terrifying and your hearts are faint. Your acts of pity and cruelty are absurd, committed with no calm, as if they were irresistible. Finally, you fear blood more and more. Blood and time."

The Wisdom of the Ages

"When a young man, I read somewhere the following: God the Almighty said, 'All that is too complex is unnecessary, and it is simple that is needed',"

Sunday, December 01, 2013

BIG TRUCKS!

Like this one:

It's a Mack EXBX in Australian service. A 4X6, 18 ton, tank-transporter/prime mover.
Here's the same in use by the Soviets.

Next up: The White 920, another 18-tonner.

A brief stop in France to check out a 6X6, Latil S25T gun-tractor. Especially notable; the unditching wheels on the front. They serve the same purpose as the roller on the front of the M3 halftrack (Another proud White product). That is they prevent the bumper from digging in on hills. These are too precious for words though, they look like a parasitic twin truck growing out the front.

The Thornycroft, 30 ton, "Mighty Antar" designated big rig of the British Commonwealth for forty years.

Diamond T 980, "...one of the most successful and memorable of its class".
Although the baby of our group with only a 12 ton payload, it was available with the largest gasoline engine of any military truck during the war
A Hall-Scott 440 OHV, inline-six. 1090 cubic inches producing 240 hp.

Drop one of those into your Excursion, yo.

Having thrilled to the sight of that giant engine, let's look at another pair of Diamond T's, double-teaming an A39 Tortoise, assault tank.

Once the 240 horses that monster power-plant produced were squoze-out through a 4-speed gearbox, a 3-speed transfer case and double-reduction differentials, they'd propel the unit along at 23 mph in the highest of its 12 forward speeds - at two miles to the gallon.
Now, we'll close with something completely different.

I give you...
The largest bus in the world circa 1934.
A 38-passenger, luxury land yacht covering the Damascus to Baghdad route for the Nairn Transport Co. The fifth-wheel trailer was towed by a 6X6, Marmon-Herrington tractor.
Love the porthole on the sleeper cab.